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PHILIPPINES: Soldiers torture and shoot a farmer dead in front of his family

July 8, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-077-2009

9 July 2009
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PHILIPPINES: Soldiers torture and shoot a farmer dead in front of his family

ISSUES: Torture; extrajudicial execution
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing to inform you about the recent torture and killing of a farmer in front of his family. The soldiers, who were on a military operation, assaulted and tortured the victim so that he would confess to being a member of a rebel group. The man repeatedly protested his innocence and the soldiers shot him dead at close range.

CASE DETAILS: (According to information from the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) and the Bangsamoro Center for JustPeace)

On June 3, 2009 Bai Markay and her husband Katog Sapalon, a farmer and charcoal maker, were preparing breakfast when soldiers arrived. It was around 7:30am. According to Bai Markay five heavily-armed men, who later identified themselves as soldiers on a military operation, approached them and began interrogating Katog, who was outside their house cooking fish. The soldiers wanted Katog to confess his involvement with a rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). They punched and kicked him while asking questions, using their fists and feet, and the butts of their armalite rifles.

Katog rushed to embrace his daughter Saida, but as he held her the soldiers continued to punch his left shoulder and pushed him away from her, towards the back of their house. Though Bai Markay pleaded with the soldiers, telling them that he was not an MILF member, they shot Katog at close range in front of his family, hitting several part of his body and killing him instantly. The shots shattered his left eye and fractured his head.

After the shooting Bai Markay asked that she and her children be allowed to leave, but the soldiers initially refused, then told her that she would have to be accompanied by a soldier. However she was eventually able to go freely to the house of her sibling nearby. After several hours they saw the soldiers taking the victim's corpse away; they borrowed a water buffalo (carabao) to transport it. Bai Markay warned her children not to talk about what had happened.

Katog’s corpse was seen being taken to the detachment of the 6th Infantry Battalion (IB), Philippine Army (PA) in Barangay Gubat Datu, Odin Sinsuat by witnesses, and this was later confirmed when a village chairperson went to the camp to claim the body. That person then turned it over to his family and the corpse was buried on the same day, according to Muslim tradition.

Katog was the family breadwinner and was about to enroll his three children at the Datu Butukan Elementary School in Barangay Gubat, Datu Odin Sinsuat. He farmed corn and produced charcoal. Their house in Barangay Makir is about two to three kilometers from the Poblacion (town center) area, in the municipality of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

On June 5, 2009, the Bangsamoro Center for Justpeace in the Philippines (a non-governmental organisation which documents cases of human rights violations in Central Mindanao) followed this case up with the head of the municipal Police Station in Datu Odin Sinsuat. They learned that the incident has not even been recorded in the police blotter (log).

The acting head of the police station said that they did try to retrieve the victim’s corpse from the soldiers' custody at the military camp but that the soldiers had prevented them. The police are supposed to have primary jurisdiction in the community where the incident took place, claim not to be aware of the overall military operation that has sent many of the villagers to evacuation centres.

The police have yet to investigate Katog's torture and murder.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the government asking that they ensure a swift and impartial investigation into the murder of Katog Sapalon. The five soldiers should be identified and held to account. The victim's family should also be given compensation and provided with proper rehabilitation for trauma. Protection should also be made available to them should they require it.

The AHRC has also written letters to the Special Rapporteurs on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions and on the Question of Torture asking for their intervention into this case.

To support this appeal, pleas click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear_______,

Re: PHILIPPINES: Soldiers torture and shoot a farmer dead in front of his family

Name of the victim: Katog Sapalon, 37 years old, married with three children, a farmer and charcoal maker, a resident of Barangay Makir, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao province. He was a Muslim of a Maguindanaon tribe.
Alleged perpetrators: Five soldiers attached to the 6th Infantry Battalion (IB), Philippine Army, stationed in Barangay Gubat Datu, Odin Sinsuat.
Date of incident: June 3, 2009 at 7:30am
Place of incident: At the boundary of Barangay Makir and Sapalan, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao province

I am shocked to learn that Katog Sapalon, a farmer and a charcoal maker, was tortured and shot dead by soldiers in front of his family in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao province. The soldiers shot him at close range at his home after he refused to confess that he was a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebel group.

According the information I have received on June 3, 2009 at around 7:30am five heavily-armed men, who later identified themselves as soldiers on a military operation, began interrogating Katog. They punched and kicked him while asking questions, using their fists and feet, and the butts of their armalite rifles. The shots that killed him shattered his left eye and fractured his head.

After several hours the family saw the soldiers taking the victim’s corpse away; they borrowed a water buffalo (carabao) to transport it. It was seen being taken to the detachment of the 6th Infantry Battalion (IB), Philippine Army (PA) in Barangay Gubat Datu, Odin Sinsuat by witnesses, and a village chairperson later went to the camp to claim the body for the family.

It has been a number of days since the incident but police officers from the Municipal Police Station in Datu Odin Sinsuat say they have not been able to investigate the case. They did not log the incident in their police blotter.

I therefore urge the government agencies concerned to ensure that an impartial investigation into this case is conducted. The five soldiers responsible for torturing and killing the victim must be identified and prosecuted in a court of law, and should the victim's family decides to pursue complaint against the five soldiers they should also be afforded with the necessary legal assistance and protection.

The government should also ensure that the victim's family is offered compensation and financial assistance for their livelihood, if needed. The victim was the family bread winner and his death will affect their daily survival.

Also, please also ensure that the victim's wife and children are offered trauma counseling and rehabilitation for the psychological trauma that they have experienced.

Sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 736 1010
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80

2. Ms. Leila De Lima
Commissioner
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 929 0102
Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
E-mail: mtm_rodulfo@yahoo.com

3. Deputy Director General Jesus A. Verzosa
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2724 8763
Tel: +63 2 726 4361/4366/8763
E-mail: ruth_cossid@yahoo.com

4. Ms. Agnes Devanadera
Secretary
Department of Justice (DoJ)
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
E-mail: raulgonzalez_doj@yahoo.com

5. Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano
Chief of Staff
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
AFP-GHQ Offices, Camp Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 911 6436
Tel: +63 2 911 6001 to 50

6. Mr. Quinciano V. Bueno
Regional Director
CHR, Region 12
Pascua Bldg., Arellano Street
Koronadal City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 83 5538887

7. Mr. Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr.
Secretary
Department of National Defense
Room 301 DND Bldg., Camp Emelio Aguinaldo
E. de los Santos Avenue
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 911 6213
Tel: +63 2 911 9281 / 911 0488
E-mail: osnd@philonline.com

8. Mr. Avelino Razon
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)
7th Floor Agustin Building I
Emerald Avenue
Pasig City 1605
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 638 2216
Tel: +63 2 636 0701 to 066
E-mail:  osec@opapp.gov.ph


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-077-2009
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.